Procrastination

I guess I’m putting off two jobs I don’t really want to do.

One is making those phone calls, or even the decisions about which phone calls to make to get that huge novel of mine out into the world. I keep telling myself I have other things to do. I am not quite sure, actually, how this fits into the bigger scheme of things. How do I fit it into my routines which are already based on principles similar to the 7 Habits as by Stephen Covey. Am I being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win / win ( I get my book published; they get a great book), seeking first to understand and then be understood, synergising and sharpening the saw? I haven’t really got it safely and sensibly programmed in.

That’s easily fixed – change what you do. But I’m getting the feeling that I’m quite glad I haven’t got it properly programmed in because it gives me the excuse not to do it. Ha!

The second is getting back to “Potatoes in Spring” and writing the chapter about how the German girls reacted to the outbreak of war in 1939. I keep telling myself I don’t know a thing about it, but what happened to the writerly idea of exploring with the imagination? Is it just that I don’t want to face the issues?

I spent some considerable time yesterday writing to the Head of one of the Stuttgart Waldorf (Steiner) Schools. I already have an interesting reply from him and from a colleague of his who will really be able to help. I guess I’ll now use having to reply to them as a further excuse not to actually write that chapter.

Plus, I have to get all of my worksheets ready for a couple of school visits the week after next.

Potatoes in Spring

I’m not sure whether this is going to be the final title. This is my current projects and is based on a fantastic resource I have: a photocopy of a circular letter sent during the Second World War between he classmates of my mother-in-law. She was a German Jewess, who did not even know about her Jewish background until a few days before she came to England at the beginning of 1939. Three stories are told in the book:
· That of my mother-in-law getting used to her strange new life in Britain – and worrying about he mother being bombed by the Germans in London and her father being bombed by the allies in Germany
· The ordinary life of ordinary Germans during that time, including the rather innocent experience of these thirteen to fourteen year old girls
· The activities of the family in Stuttgart who saved the Jewish orphanage helped the Jews in the ghetto.
I think the unusual angle here is the taking a look at ordinary lives. We know about the Holocaust. We know about many acts of bravery and defiance. But what we lack is knowledge of the ordinary, and perhaps some clue as to how this could have happened when ordinary people were around. At least I have some good documentation here. However, I don’t have everything I need and I’m actually looking forward to doing some of the research.